Search results for: spent caustic

Authors: T. Thitiapichart, P. Praserthdama

Abstract:

The effect of additional magnesium oxide (MgO) was investigated by using the tungsten oxide supported on silica catalyst (WOx/SiO2) physically mixed with MgO in a weight ratio 1:1. The both fresh and spent catalysts were characterized by FT-Raman spectrometer, UV-Vis spectrometer, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature programmed oxidation (TPO). The results indicated that the additional MgO could enhance the conversion of trans-2-butene due to isomerization reaction. However, adding MgO would increase the amount of coke deposit on the WOx/SiO2 catalyst. The TPO profile presented two peaks when the WOx/SiO2 catalyst was physically mixed with MgO. The further peak was suggested that came from coke precursor could be produced by isomerization reaction of undesired product. Then, the occurred coke precursor could deposit and form coke on the acid catalyst.

Keywords: Coke formation, metathesis, magnesium oxide, physically mix.

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Authors: V. Andronie, M. Pârvu, V. Simion, I. Andronie

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The aim of this study was to trace the effects of growth environment on the behaviour of fattening pigs in the farm and outside it. Behavioral manifestations of pigs reared in pens with enriched environment (A lot, n: 22) were different from those of pigs reared in pens with arid environment (B lot, n: 17) in shelter and when the movement to be loaded. Pigs of B lot spent more time on the move (31%) compared to group A pigs (13%), and manifested more aggressive behavior when they were loaded. Salivary cortisol levels also showed high values for pigs in B lot after being removed from their growth environment, as compared to its concentration for A lot pigs. The enriched environment for pigs may determine different responses of behavior. Pigs raised in arid environment, were easier to loaded than pigs reared in enriched environment, but they responded to mixing and loading stress, through increases in cortisol concentrations and impaired behavioral manifestations.

Keywords: environment shelter, pig, behavior

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Authors: Adithya Nadig

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In the field of production, characterization of surface roughness plays a vital role in assessing the quality of a manufactured product. The defined parameters for this assessment, each, have their own drawbacks in describing a profile surface. From the purview of small-scale and medium-scale industries, an increase in time spent for manual inspection of a product for various parameters adds to the cost of the product. In order to reduce this, a uniform and established standard is necessary for quantifying a profile of a manufactured product. The inspection procedure in the small and medium-scale manufacturing units at Jigani Industrial area, Bangalore, was observed. The parameters currently in use in those industries are described in the paper and a change in the inspection method is proposed.

Keywords: Efficiency of quality assessment, areal profiling technique, manufacturing, standardization, Surface Roughness Characterization.

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Authors: R. Alageswaran, S. Selvakumar, P. Neelamegam

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Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are emerging because of the developments in wireless communication technology and miniaturization of the hardware. WSN consists of a large number of low-cost, low-power, multifunctional sensor nodes to monitor physical conditions, such as temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, motion, etc. The MAC protocol to be used in the sensor networks must be energy efficient and this should aim at conserving the energy during its operation. In this paper, with the focus of analyzing the MAC protocols used in wireless Adhoc networks to WSN, simulation experiments were conducted in Global Mobile Simulator (GloMoSim) software. Number of packets sent by regular nodes, and received by sink node in different deployment strategies, total energy spent, and the network life time have been chosen as the metric for comparison. From the results of simulation, it is evident that the IEEE 802.11 protocol performs better compared to CSMA and MACA protocols.

Keywords: CSMA, DCF, MACA, TelosB

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Authors: Haroon Altarawneh, Sattam Allahawiah

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This paper has two main ideas. Firstly, it describes Evans and Wurster-s concepts “the trade-off between reach and richness", and relates them to the impact of technology on the virtual markets. Authors Evans and Wurster see the transfer of information as a 'trade'off between richness and reach-. Reach refers to the number of people who share particular information, with Richness ['Rich'] being a more complex concept combining: bandwidth, customization, interactivity, reliability, security and currency. Traditional shopping limits the number of shops the shopper is able to visit due to time and other cost constraints; the time spent traveling consequently leaves the shopper with less time to evaluate the product. The paper concludes that although the Web provides Reach, offering Richness and the sense of community required for creating and sustaining relationships with potential clients could be difficult.

Keywords: Internet, Web sites, Richness and Reach, Ecommerce, virtual markets.

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Authors: Alberto Abello Moreno-Cid

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Mummification was the process through which immortality was granted to the deceased, so it was of extreme importance to the Egyptians. The techniques of embalming had evolved over the centuries, and specialists created increasingly sophisticated tools. However, due to its eminently religious nature, knowledge about everything related to this practice was jealously preserved, and the testimonies that have survived to our time are scarce. For this reason, embalming instruments found in archaeological excavations are uncommon. The tomb of the Vizier Amenhotep Huy (AT No. -28-), located in the el-Assasif necropolis that is being excavated since 2009 by the team of the Institute of Ancient Egyptian Studies, has been the scene of some discoveries of this type that evidences the existence of mummification practices in this place after the New Kingdom. The clysters or enemas are the fundamental tools in the second type of mummification described by the historian Herodotus to introduce caustic solutions inside the body of the deceased. Nevertheless, such objects only have been found in three locations: the tomb of Ankh-Hor in Luxor, where a copper enema belonged to the prophet of Ammon Uah-ib-Ra came to light; the excavation of the tomb of Menekh-ib-Nekau in Abusir, where was also found one made of copper; and the excavations in the Bucheum, where two more artifacts were discovered, also made of copper but in different shapes and sizes. Both of them were used for the mummification of sacred animals and this is the reason they vary significantly. Therefore, the object found in the tomb No. -28-, is the first known made of faience of all these peculiar tools and the oldest known until now, dated in the Third Intermediate Period (circa 1070-650 B.C.). This paper bases its investigation on the study of those parallelisms, the material, the current archaeological context and the full analysis and reconstruction of the object in question. The key point is the use of faience in the production of this item: creating a device intended to be in constant use seems to be a first illogical compared to other samples made of copper. Faience around the area of Deir el-Bahari had a strong religious component, associated with solar myths and principles of the resurrection, connected to the Osirian that characterises the mummification procedure. The study allows to refute some of the premises which are held unalterable in Egyptology, verifying the utilization of these sort of pieces, understanding its way of use and showing that this type of mummification was also applied to the highest social stratum, in which case the tools were thought out of an exceptional quality and religious symbolism.

Keywords: Clyster, el-Assasif, embalming, faience enema, mummification, Theban necropolis.

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Authors: A. M. Omoare, E. O. Fakoya, B. G. Abiona, W. O. Oyediran

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This study assessed fish marketing as panacea towards sustainable agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used in the selection of 150 fish marketers for this study. Descriptive statistics were used for the objectives while Product Pearson Moment Correlation was used to test the hypothesis. Result of the findings revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 38.60 years. Majority (93.33%) of the respondents had acceptable levels of formal education. Many (44.00%) of the respondents had spent 1-5 years in fish marketing. The average quantity of fish sold in a day was 94.10kg. However, efficient fish marketing were hindered by inadequate processing equipment, storage rooms and ice holding facilities (86.67%). There was a significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics and profit realized from fish marketing (p < 0.05). It was recommended that storage and warehousing facilities should be provided to the fish marketers in the study area.

Keywords: Fish marketers, panacea, retail markets, sustainable.

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Authors: Anocha Kimkong

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The purpose of this research was to study the behavior trend factors of consumers to roasted coffee at the petrol station on the route of Rangsit to Nakhon Nayok. The research drew upon data collected from the regular consumers of roasted coffee stands. The majority of respondents was male, 33-39 years old, and holding a bachelor degree. The majority of respondents considered themselves private business proprietors or entrepreneurs and had a monthly income of between 10,000-16,000 baht. The regular coffee consumers spent a minimum coffee expense of between 45 and 300 baht per day. These consumers also displayed good attitude and good motivation which can be ranked as very high. From the hypothesis testing of the behavior trend for the roasted coffee consumers in repurchasing coffee and recommended the coffee to others, the findings revealed that it had a significant correlation. Moreover, the overall attitude towards the marketing mix factors also had a significant correlation with the behavior trend consumers.

Keywords: Factors Related, Consuming Behaviour, Coffee Consumers.

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Authors: Nemat Abazari, Ilgin Sager

Abstract:

In this paper smooth trajectories are computed in the Lie group SO(2, 1) as a motion planning problem by assigning a Frenet frame to the rigid body system to optimize the cost function of the elastic energy which is spent to track a timelike curve in Minkowski space. A method is proposed to solve a motion planning problem that minimize the integral of the square norm of Darboux vector of a timelike curve. This method uses the coordinate free Maximum Principle of Optimal control and results in the theory of integrable Hamiltonian systems. The presence of several conversed quantities inherent in these Hamiltonian systems aids in the explicit computation of the rigid body motions.

Keywords: Optimal control, Hamiltonian vector field, Darboux vector, maximum principle, lie group, Rigid body motion, Lorentz metric.

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Authors: Dinh Ha, Tran, Chung - Ruey Yen

Abstract:

This study explored the morphological characteristics and effects of pollination methods on fruit set and characteristics in 4 red pitaya (Hylocereus spp.) clones. The distinctive morphological recognition and classification among pitaya clones were confirmed by the stem, flower and fruit features. The fruit production season was indicated from the beginning of May to the end of August – the beginning of September with 6-7 flowering cycles per year. The floral stage took from 15-19 days and fruit duration spent 30–32 days. VN White, fully self-compatible, obtained high fruit set rates (80.0–90.5%) in all pollination treatments and the maximum fruit weight (402.6g) in hand self- and (403.4g) in open-pollination. Chaozhou 5 was partially self-compatible while Orejona and F₁₁ were completely self-incompatible. Hand cross-pollination increased significantly fruit set (95.8; 88.4 and 90.2%) and fruit weight (374.2; 281.8 and 416.3 g) in Chaozhou 5, Orejona, and F₁₁, respectively. TSS contents were not much influenced by pollination methods.

Keywords: Hylocereus spp., morphology, floral phenology, pollination requirement.

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Authors: Dinh - Ha Tran, Chung - Ruey Yen

Abstract:

This study explored the morphological characteristics and effects of pollination methods on fruit set and characteristics in 4 red pitaya (Hylocereus spp.) clones. The distinctive morphological recognition and classification among pitaya clones were confirmed by the stem, flower and fruit features. The fruit production season was indicated from the beginning of May to the end of August – the beginning of September with 6-7 flowering cycles per year. The floral stage took from 15-19 days and fruit duration spent 30–32 days. VN White, fully self-compatible, obtained high fruit set rates (80.0–90.5%) in all pollination treatments and the maximum fruit weight (402.6g) in hand self- and (403.4g) in open-pollination. Chaozhou 5 was partially self-compatible while Orejona and F₁₁ were completely self-incompatible. Hand cross-pollination increased significantly fruit set (95.8; 88.4 and 90.2%) and fruit weight (374.2; 281.8 and 416.3g) in Chaozhou 5, Orejona and F₁₁, respectively. TSS contents were not much influcenced by pollination methods.

Keywords: Hylocereus spp., morphology, floral phenology, pollination requirement.

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Authors: K. Krishna Milan Rao, Nelvin Joseph, Praveen Dwarakanath

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Augmented and Virtual Realties is quickly becoming a hotbed of activity with millions of dollars being spent on R & D and companies such as Google and Microsoft rushing to stake their claim. Augmented reality (AR) is however marching ahead due to the spread of the ideal AR device – the smartphone. Despite its potential, there remains a deep digital divide between the Developed and Developing Countries. The Technological Acceptance Model (TAM) and Hofstede cultural dimensions also predict the behaviour intention to uptake AR in India will be large. This paper takes a quantified approach by collecting 340 survey responses to AR scenarios and analyzing them through statistics. The Survey responses show that the Intention to Use, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Enjoyment dimensions are high among the urban population in India. This along with the exponential smartphone indicates that India is on the cusp of a boom in the AR sector.

Keywords: Mobile augmented reality, technology acceptance model, Hofstede, cultural dimensions, India.

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Authors: Nemat Abazari, Ilgin Sager

Abstract:

In this paper smooth trajectories are computed in the Lie group SO(2, 1) as a motion planning problem by assigning a Frenet frame to the rigid body system to optimize the cost function of the elastic energy which is spent to track a timelike curve in Minkowski space. A method is proposed to solve a motion planning problem that minimizes the integral of the Lorentz inner product of Darboux vector of a timelike curve. This method uses the coordinate free Maximum Principle of Optimal control and results in the theory of integrable Hamiltonian systems. The presence of several conversed quantities inherent in these Hamiltonian systems aids in the explicit computation of the rigid body motions.

Keywords: Optimal control, Hamiltonian vector field, Darboux vector, maximum principle, lie group, rigid body motion, Lorentz metric.

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Authors: Andrei Ursachi, Dorin Bordeasu

Abstract:

The Smart Grid Simulator is a computer software based on advance algorithms which has as the main purpose to lower the energy bill in the most optimized price efficient way as possible for private households, companies or energy providers. It combines the energy provided by a number of solar modules and wind turbines with the consumption of one household or a cluster of nearby households and information regarding weather conditions and energy prices in order to predict the amount of energy that can be produced by renewable energy sources and the amount of energy that will be bought from the distributor for the following day. The user of the system will not only be able to minimize his expenditures on energy factures, but also he will be informed about his hourly consumption, electricity prices fluctuation and money spent for energy bought as well as how much money he saved each day and since he installed the system. The paper outlines the algorithm that supports the Smart Grid Simulator idea and presents preliminary test results that supports the discussion and implementation of the system.

Keywords: Applied Science, Renewable energy sources, Smart Grid, Sustainable energy.

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Authors: Kihyon Kwon, Hyun T. Park, Gil Y. Chung, Sang-Hoon Lee

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This paper focuses on assessing sloshing-induced overflow of the seismically-isolated nuclear tanks based on Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis. Typically, fluid motion in the seismically-isolated nuclear tank systems may be rather amplified and even overflowed under earthquake. Sloshing-induced overflow in those structures has to be reliably assessed and predicted since it can often cause critical damages to humans and environments. FSI analysis is herein performed to compute the total cumulative overflowed water volume more accurately, by coupling ANSYS with CFX for structural and fluid analyses, respectively. The approach is illustrated on a nuclear liquid storage tank, Spent Fuel Pool (SFP), forgiven conditions under consideration: different liquid levels, Peak Ground Accelerations (PGAs), and post earthquakes. 

Keywords: FSI analysis, seismically-isolated nuclear tank system, sloshing-induced overflow.

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Authors: An Chen, Huilin Ye

Abstract:

Mining sequential patterns from large customer transaction databases has been recognized as a key research topic in database systems. However, the previous works more focused on mining sequential patterns at a single concept level. In this study, we introduced concept hierarchies into this problem and present several algorithms for discovering multiple-level sequential patterns based on the hierarchies. An experiment was conducted to assess the performance of the proposed algorithms. The performances of the algorithms were measured by the relative time spent on completing the mining tasks on two different datasets. The experimental results showed that the performance depends on the characteristics of the datasets and the pre-defined threshold of minimal support for each level of the concept hierarchy. Based on the experimental results, some suggestions were also given for how to select appropriate algorithm for a certain datasets.

Keywords: Data Mining, Multiple-Level Sequential Pattern, Concept Hierarchy, Customer Transaction Database.

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Authors: Eshagh Rasouli Sarabi, Mir Saeed Moosavi

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In Iran, due to abundance of energy resources, energy consumption is extraordinarily higher than international standards and transportation sector is considered to be one of the major consumers of energy. Moreover, air pollution in urban areas as a result of high dependence on private vehicle and lower standards of vehicles, high subsidies spent on fuel and time waste due to traffic congestion in urban areas all have led to speculations on new strategies and policies in order to control energy consumption in transportation sector. These strategies and policies will be introduced in this paper and their consequences will be analyzed with consideration to socio-economic factors affecting the urban society of Iran. Besides, the intention is to suggest and analyze new approaches such as broader application of public transportation system, demand management in transport sector, replacement of deteriorated vehicles, quality improvement in car manufacture and introduction of substitute fuels.

Keywords: Consumption, energy, fuel, transportation.

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Authors: J. R. Wang, Y. Chiang, W. Y. Li, H. T. Lin, H. C. Chen, C. Shih, S. W. Chen

Abstract:

The dry-storage systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Taiwan have become one of the major safety concerns. There are two steps considered in this study. The first step is the verification of the TRACE by using VSC-17 experimental data. The results of TRACE were similar to the VSC-17 data. It indicates that TRACE has the respectable accuracy in the simulation and analysis of the dry-storage systems. The next step is the application of TRACE in the dry-storage system of Kuosheng NPP (BWR/6). Kuosheng NPP is the second BWR NPP of Taiwan Power Company. In order to solve the storage of the spent fuels, Taiwan Power Company developed the new dry-storage system for Kuosheng NPP. In this step, the dry-storage system model of Kuosheng NPP was established by TRACE. Then, the steady state simulation of this model was performed and the results of TRACE were compared with the Kuosheng NPP data. Finally, this model was used to perform the safety analysis of Kuosheng NPP dry-storage system. Besides, FRAPTRAN was used tocalculate the transient performance of fuel rods.

Keywords: BWR, TRACE, FRAPTRAN, Dry-Storage.

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Authors: Usman D. Hamza, Noor S. Nasri, Mohammed Jibril, Husna Mohd Zain

Abstract:

Activated carbons (M4P0, M4P2, and M5P2) used in this research were produced from palm shell and polyetherether ketone (PEEK) via carbonization, impregnation and microwave activation. The adsorption/desorption process was carried out using static volumetric adsorption. Regeneration is important in the overall economy of the process and waste minimization. This work focuses on the thermal regeneration of the CO2 exhausted microwave activated carbons. The regeneration strategy adopted was thermal with nitrogen purge desorption with N2 feed flow rate of 20 ml/min for 1 h at atmospheric pressure followed by drying at 150oC.Seven successive adsorption/regeneration processes were carried out on the material. It was found that after seven adsorption regeneration cycles; the regeneration efficiency (RE) for CO2 activated carbon from palm shell only (M4P0) was more than 90% while that of hybrid palm shell-PEEK (M4P2, M5P2) was above 95%. The cyclic adsorption and regeneration shows the stability of the adsorbent materials.

Keywords: Activated carbon, Palm shell-PEEK, Regeneration, thermal.

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Authors: Gonzalo Rubio, Eusebio Valero, Sven Lanzan

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The design of a modern aircraft is based on three pillars: theoretical results, experimental test and computational simulations. As a results of this, Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) solvers are widely used in the aeronautical field. These solvers require the correct selection of many parameters in order to obtain successful results. Besides, the computational time spent in the simulation depends on the proper choice of these parameters. In this paper we create an expert system capable of making an accurate prediction of the number of iterations and time required for the convergence of a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) solver. Artificial neural network (ANN) has been used to design the expert system. It is shown that the developed expert system is capable of making an accurate prediction the number of iterations and time required for the convergence of a CFD solver.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Optimization

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Authors: D.O. Omondi, L.O.A. Othuon, G.M. Mbagaya

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The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of physical activity and dietary fat intake on Body Mass Index (BMI) of lecturers within a higher learning institutionalized setting. The study adopted a Cross-sectional Correlational Design and included 120 lecturers selected proportionately by simple random sampling techniques from a population of 600 lecturers. Data was collected using questionnaires, which had sections including physical activity checklist adopted from the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ), 24-hour food recall, anthropometric measurements mainly weight and height. Analysis involved the use of bivariate correlations and linear regression. A significant inverse association was registered between BMI and duration (in minutes) spent doing moderate intense physical activity per day (r=-0.322, p<0.01). Physical activity also predicted BMI (r2=0.096, F=13.616, β=-3.22, t=-3.69, n=120, P<0.01). However, the association between Body Mass Index and dietary fat was not significant (r=0.038, p>0.05). Physical activity emerged as a more powerful determinant of BMI compared to dietary fat intake.

Keywords: Physical activity, dietary fat intake, Body MassIndex, Kenya.

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Authors: M.Takeuchi, T.Kitagaki, Y.Noguchi, T. Washiya

Abstract:

A high performance clarification system has been discussed for advanced aqueous reprocessing of FBR spent fuel. Dissolver residue gives the cause of troubles on the plant operation of reprocessing. In this study, the new clarification system based on the hybrid of centrifuge and filtration was proposed to get the high separation ability of the component of whole insoluble sludge. The clarification tests of simulated solid species were carried out to evaluate the clarification performance using small-scale test apparatus of centrifuge and filter unit. The density effect of solid species on the collection efficiency was mainly evaluated in the centrifugal clarification test. In the filtration test using ceramic filter with pore size of 0.2μm, on the other hand, permeability and filtration rate were evaluated in addition to the filtration efficiency. As results, it was evaluated that the collection efficiency of solid species on the new clarification system was estimated as nearly 100%. In conclusion, the high clarification performance of dissolver liquor can be achieved by the hybrid of the centrifuge and filtration system.

Keywords: Centrifuge, Clarification, FBR dissolver liquor, Filtration

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Authors: Mehdi Seifbarghy, Keyvan Roshan

Abstract:

Main goal of preventive healthcare problems are at decreasing the likelihood and severity of potentially life-threatening illnesses by protection and early detection. The levels of establishment and staffing costs along with summation of the travel and waiting time that clients spent are considered as objectives functions of the proposed nonlinear integer programming model. In this paper, we have proposed a bi-objective mathematical model for designing a network of preventive healthcare facilities so as to minimize aforementioned objectives, simultaneously. Moreover, each facility acts as M/M/1 queuing system. The number of facilities to be established, the location of each facility, and the level of technology for each facility to be chosen are provided as the main determinants of a healthcare facility network. Finally, to demonstrate performance of the proposed model, four multi-objective decision making techniques are presented to solve the model.

Keywords: Preventive healthcare problems, Non-linear integer programming models, Multi-objective decision making techniques

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Authors: G. Gradinaru, S. Olteanu

Abstract:

The quality improvements of the environmental elements could increase the recreational opportunities in a certain area (destination). The technique of the need for recreation focuses on choosing certain destinations for recreational purposes. The basic exchange taken into consideration is the one between the satisfaction gained after staying in that area and the value expressed in money and time allocated. The number of tourists in the respective area, the duration of staying and the money spent including transportation provide information on how individuals rank the place or certain aspects of the area (such as the quality of the environmental elements). For the statistical analysis of the environmental benefits offered by an area through the need of recreation technique, the following stages are suggested: - characterization of the reference area based on the statistical variables considered; - estimation of the environmental benefit through comparing the reference area with other similar areas (having the same environmental characteristics), from the perspective of the statistical variables considered. The model compared in recreation technique faced with a series of difficulties which refers to the reference area and correct transformation of time in money.

Keywords: Comparison in recreation technique, the quality of the environmental elements, statistical analysis model.

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Authors: Farnaz Nazem

Abstract:

The aim of sustainable architecture is to design buildings with the least adverse effects on the environment and provide better conditions for people. What building forms make the best use of land? This question was addressed in the late 1960s at the center of Land Use and Built Form Studies in Cambridge. This led to a number of influential papers which had a great influence on the practice of urban design. This paper concentrates on the results of sustainability caused by climatic conditions in Iranian traditional architecture in hot-arid regions. As people spent a significant amount of their time in houses, it was very important to have such houses to fulfill their needs physically and spiritually as well as satisfying their cultural and religious aspects of their lifestyles. In a vast country such as Iran with different climatic zones, traditional builders have presented series of logical solutions for human comfort. These solutions have been able to response to the environmental problems for a long period of time. As a result, by considering the experience in traditional architecture of hot–arid climate in Iran, it is possible to attain sustainable architecture.

Keywords: Hot-arid climate, Iran, sustainable traditional architecture, urban planning.

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Authors: F. Zarrabi, J. R. Brown

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Although English is not a second language in Iran, it has become an inseparable part of many Iranian people’s lives and is becoming more and more widespread. This high demand has caused a significant increase in the number of private English language institutes in Iran. Although English is a compulsory course in schools and universities, the majority of Iranian people are unable to communicate easily in English. This paper reviews the current state of teaching and learning English as an international language in Iran. Attitudes and motivations about learning English are reviewed. Five different aspects of using English within the country are analysed, including: English in public domain, English in Media, English in organizations/businesses, English in education, and English in private language institutes. Despite the time and money spent on English language courses in private language institutes, the majority of learners seem to forget what has been learned within months of completing their course. That is, when they are students with the support of the teacher and formal classes, they appear to make progress and use English more or less fluently. When this support is removed, their language skills either stagnant or regress. The findings of this study suggest that a dependant approach to learning is potentially one of the main reasons for English language learning problems and this is encouraged by English course books and approaches to teaching.

Keywords: English in Iran, English language learning, English language teaching, evaluation.

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Authors: Hamed Rahmani, Wim Groot

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The term "youth not in employment, education or training (NEET)" refers to a combination of youth unemployment and school dropout. This study investigates the variables that increase the risk of becoming NEET in Iran. A selection bias-adjusted Probit model was employed using machine learning to identify these risk factors. We used cross-sectional data obtained from the Statistical Center of Iran and the Ministry of Cooperatives Labor and Social Welfare that are taken from the labor force survey conducted in the spring of 2021. We look at years of education, work experience, housework, the number of children under the age of 6 years in the home, family education, birthplace, and the amount of land owned by households. Results show that hours spent performing domestic chores enhance the likelihood of youth becoming NEET, and years of education, years of potential work experience decrease the chance of being NEET. The findings also show that female youth born in cities were less likely than those born in rural regions to become NEET.

Keywords: NEET youth, probit, CART, machine learning, unemployment.

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Authors: M. Palanivel, R. Uthayakumar

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In this paper, Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) based model for non-instantaneous Weibull distribution deteriorating items with power demand pattern is presented. In this model, the holding cost per unit of the item per unit time is assumed to be an increasing linear function of time spent in storage. Here the retailer is allowed a trade-credit offer by the supplier to buy more items. Also in this model, shortages are allowed and partially backlogged. The backlogging rate is dependent on the waiting time for the next replenishment. This model aids in minimizing the total inventory cost by finding the optimal time interval and finding the optimal order quantity. The optimal solution of the model is illustrated with the help of numerical examples. Finally sensitivity analysis and graphical representations are given to demonstrate the model.

Keywords: Power demand pattern, Partial backlogging, Time dependent holding cost, Trade credit, Weibull deterioration.

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Authors: Ammal M. Metwally, Lobna A. El Etreby, Rehan M. Saleh, Ghada Abdrabou, Somia I. Salama, Amira Orabi, Mohamed Abdelrahman

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Hepatitis C virus infection is a public health threat in Egypt. To control infection, efforts should be spent to encourage healthy behavior. This study aimed to assess the level of behavioral development in order to create a positive environment for the adoption of the recommended behaviors. The study was conducted over one year from Jan. 2011 till Jan. 2012.Knowledge, attitude and behavior of 540 HCV patients and 102 of their contacts were assessed and the level of behavioral development was determined. The study revealed that the majority of patients and contacts knew that HCV infection is dangerous with perceived concern for early diagnosis and treatment. More than 75% knew the correct modes of transmission. The assessment showed positive attitudes towards the recommended practices with intention to adopt those practices. Strategies of creating opportunities to continue the recommended behaviors should be adopted together with the reinforcement of social support.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, Level of behavioral development, recommended behaviors.

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Authors: Dimitra Alexiou

Abstract:

During the last 10 years, in spite of the economic crisis, the number of tourists arriving in Greece has increased, particularly during the tourist season from April to October. In this paper, the number of annual tourist arrivals is studied to explore their preferences with regard to the month of travel, the selected destinations, as well the amount of money spent. The collected data are processed with statistical methods, yielding numerical and graphical results. From the computation of statistical parameters and the forecasting with exponential smoothing, useful conclusions are arrived at that can be used by the Greek tourism authorities, as well as by tourist organizations, for planning purposes for the coming years. The results of this paper and the computed forecast can also be used for decision making by private tourist enterprises that are investing in Greece. With regard to the statistical methods, the method of Simple Exponential Smoothing of time series of data is employed. The search for a best forecast for 2017 and 2018 provides the value of the smoothing coefficient. For all statistical computations and graphics Microsoft Excel is used.

Keywords: Tourism, statistical methods, exponential smoothing, land spatial planning, economy, Microsoft Excel.

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